Neowin.net - Google's spycar revs up UK privacy fears

Google's spycar revs up UK privacy fears

Posted by Daniel Fleshbourne on 07 July 2008 - 16:58 · 21 comments & 4754 views

Google's Street View cars, which grab real photographs of streets and the people in them for the search giant's Maps service, have come under fire from privacy campaigners. The spycar has been spotted in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff. A Reg reader was kind enough to send us a snap of the snapper-car in London. The pictures the car takes subsequently get loaded into Google Maps.

Privacy International has complained to the Information Commissioner's Office. A spokeswoman for the ICO told the Reg: "Yes, we have received a complaint about this and we are looking into it. We are contacting Google to get more details of the scheme."

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#1 Posted by +Unimatrix Xero on 07 Jul 2008 - 16:59: this was featured on the reg over 4 days ago, old news

edit: same stry but just reworded http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/02/street_view_spycar/

(2 replies) #2 Posted by ec4912 on 07 Jul 2008 - 17:40: I gotta say, this disturbed me a little when I found out about it. My wife told me she could see my TransAm in front of my house, and my mom in the garden. I thought it was a joke, until I confirmed it. It's a great tool to case houses for theft.

#3 Posted by milesfromordinary on 07 Jul 2008 - 18:02: what about the video cameras monitoring every nook and cranny of downtown london? why are these people fretting that somebody might find them on the not-live Google Street View? maybe Privacy International needs to sort out its priorities.

(1 reply) #4 Posted by exotoxic on 07 Jul 2008 - 18:05: the peoples faces, number plates of cars and so other stuff are blured out...

It's a great tool to case houses for theft.

umm how??

(1 reply) #5 Posted by +M2Ys4U on 07 Jul 2008 - 18:31: I think people are too paranoid about this. It's the same info that's available as just driving down the street yourself. Why the worry?

#6 Posted by Kushan on 07 Jul 2008 - 18:34: One word:

Arsed?

(2 replies) #7 Posted by bluarash on 07 Jul 2008 - 19:52: Why should this matter? At least the entity involved in not the state government.

(2 replies) #8 Posted by C_Guy on 07 Jul 2008 - 20:56: Priorities. This is a technology we sorely need. Why spend resources trying to cure world hunger or cancer when we can have THIS!!! Thank God for Google!

#9 Posted by Ashl on 07 Jul 2008 - 22:06: I've looked at it on the tour de france route and it looks really good, hopefully the UK will just blur faces and get on with sticking it up! For example I can look around a previous holiday destination on there without being there(or a future one) in much finer detail than ever before.

#10 Posted by Airlink on 08 Jul 2008 - 00:42: Excuse me while I laugh at all the people running around screaming "Googlezila.. Googlezilla! Who will save us?!"
Yes, it's a big corporation, and yes it indexes an neigh-unimaginable amount of data, and yes it's got cars running around snapping photos of things. That doesn't mean that the sky is falling and that you're Chicken Little. Get a grip.

#11 Posted by x00783 on 08 Jul 2008 - 00:46: I just don't see why people are freaking out about getting their thong snapped, ****ing on the side of the road, passed out in a corner. If it's in a public place, don't screw up. Notice I said.... Public Place....

#12 Posted by zuperfluff on 08 Jul 2008 - 16:26: aren't the streets public? if other people can take a picture of a stranger peeing in washington street in whatever country, then why cant google? if the government already has the information of what size of underwear you are wearing today, then i say it's a way of keeping the power balanced. if the government can, then the people should be able to. right? right?
all in favor say 'yay!'

#13 Posted by Nose Nuggets on 08 Jul 2008 - 16:30: its the open public, you have no expectation of privacy.

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